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The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia

(www.cnn.com)
334 points andrewl | 2 comments | 12 Nov 25 16:10 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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Analemma_ ◴[12 Nov 25 16:23 UTC] No.45902070[source]▶
Honestly nickels and dimes, and maybe even quarters, should go too. It's ridiculous that we don't have $1 and $2 coins in widespread circulation in the US (we have a $1 coin but nobody uses it).
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JohnFen ◴[12 Nov 25 16:31 UTC] No.45902164[source]▶
I'd mourn the loss of the quarter. I use those quite often.

> (we have a $1 coin but nobody uses it)

Because they keep designing it in the stupidest way, making it easy to confuse with a quarter. I don't know why they do that.

That said, I do prefer paper $1 bills over coins. Paper is lighter and easier to carry. But I'd only slightly grumble if we replaced it with a reasonable coin.

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terminalshort ◴[12 Nov 25 16:35 UTC] No.45902208[source]▶
It's a completely different color than a quarter.
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JohnFen ◴[12 Nov 25 16:39 UTC] No.45902264[source]▶
That doesn't help if you're in dim lighting or have vision problems.
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1. basscomm ◴[12 Nov 25 17:13 UTC] No.45902736{3}[source]▶
That's why the dollar coin was redesigned in 2000. The old dollar coin had a reeded edge that was too similar to a quarter, so it was sometimes hard to distinguish if you had vision issues (or if you didn't have vision issues because they were about the same size as a quarter). The new ones have a smooth edge so you can tell them apart from quarters without having to look at them
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2. JohnFen ◴[12 Nov 25 17:44 UTC] No.45903164[source]▶
True, and the new design is better than the old because of it. But it hasn't resolved the issue enough to really matter. Some less subtle physical difference is required -- put a hole in it, make it an obviously unique size, whatever.

At least that's how it seems to me. It's an interesting design issue. I don't personally care too much -- I'm fine with the paper bill -- but I do have curiosity about why the coin designers have made the decisions they did about the $1 coin.